Colloquially, a depository institution is a

financial institution A financial institution, sometimes called a banking institution, is a business entity that provides service as an intermediary for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial ins ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(such as a

savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution that is not run on a profit-maximizing basis, and whose original or primary purpose is collecting deposits on savings accounts that are invested on a low-risk basis and receive interest. Savings banks ha ...

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...

, savings and loan associations, or credit unions) that is legally allowed to accept monetary deposits from

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or use purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...

s. Under federal law, however, a "depository institution" is limited to banks and savings associations - credit unions are not included (debatable). An example of a non-depository institution might be a mortgage bank. While licensed to lend, they cannot accept deposits.

References

* Ruben D Cohen (2004) �
The Optimal Capital Structure of Depository Institutions
��, ''Wilmott Magazine'', March issue. Financial services in the United States {{business-stub

See also

References